💐

He's honestly a bit grateful when Johnny comes knocking, practically dragging him out to the training field.

It's cool out, his hoodie and sweatpants do just enough to keep it at bay. A moonless, starry sky above them, the brightest pin pricks forcing their way through despite the glow of the base. A cacophony of small creatures hums around them.

Kyle comes into view in front of him, and Ghost is placed there next to him.

Johnny instructs them both to wait there. As if they've another place to be at this hour.

Kyle smirks up at Ghost, definitely woken from a restful sleep, but here all the same. "Any clue what he's after?"

"At this hour? Getting me more paperwork."

Kyle laughs. He leans his shoulder in Ghost's. Ghost watches the mostly dark sky, bringing his arm up around Kyle's back. Kyle sighs, pressing in a little more.

"Sleep well until this?" He asks.

Ghost hums. "Like a babe."

"Mhm."

"'S true. Had a little drool puddle and everythin."

"You're gross, mate."

Ghost just squeezes his arm a bit tighter around Kyle.

"Shit." Kyle takes another step into Ghost, closing whatever little distance remains. "Fuckin' cold."

"Well, ah've a solution." They hear Johnny before they see him, then he appears. "Follow me."

He guides them around the building. Then up one of the maintenance ladders to the roof. Another place they should probably not be at this time of night. Neither of the sergeants seem to mind though, and neither does Ghost.

What does bother some part of Ghost's mind is what's waiting for them. A small set up of pillows and blankets. A concerning amount of lit candles lighting the place. And a few of Johnny's prized plushies, a giant seal, a very soft elephant, and the fedora wearing chicken Ghost had gifted him last Christmas.

"Ta-da." Johnny's beaming, tugging on Kyle's arm to pull him forward.

Ghost lets them go ahead of him. Kyle sits next to the seal, already pulling it into his lap.

"Dinnae worry." Johnny softens at Ghost's hesitation. Sitting himself down slowly like a dog curling into a good spot." Camera's are looped."

Ghost takes tentative steps forward. Encroaching on the softness. Both men look up expectantly, but patient. Their eagerness wrapped softly in care.

"Night under the stars then, Johnny?" Ghost muses, standing over them. Johnny's eyes gleam, too clever and satisfied for his own good.

"'s a beautiful night, LT. Besides, 's too stuffy in there lately."

He's right. Has been, not just the air. Whole place on edge and half of its beyond Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley's pay grade.

He huffs, relenting to sit between them in the open space they've left.

Both of them immediately tuck in closer. Johnny pulls up the blanket. Kyle makes sure the pillows are situated.

Ghost lets them settle. Then his one hand finds its way into Soap's hair. The other around Kyle's shoulders again, thumb brushing gently on his shoulder.

"Worth the trouble, Johnny?" Ghost asks, eyes wandering across the stars above them.

Little chubby thing with the reddest face anyone's seen, ghost lovingly calls baby his little ladybug. He genuinely doesn't understand the men he would overhear on base, talking about their babies and wives at home as if they were some parallel lines running next to eachother.

He laughed the first time a supposed father proudly proclaimed he'd never changed a diaper, because "yer no father at that point, jones. Just the poor excuse for the kids other half."

No, ghost is obsessed with being in his babies life.

He wants to be there with you when baby is crying all night and the only thing that makes her sleep is the sound of the vacuum. He wants to have her photos plastered around the house, more than that he wants to be in the photos.

Before you, before the baby, the only photos of ghost existed in a classified folder documenting the injuries of one simon riley. Ghost hated appearing in photos, had no interest in documenting the disgusting thing that he inhabited.

Now? Now, ghost is forcing himself to be in nearly every photo with baby. One with her Curled up on his bare chest, bumblebee onesie almost too big for her. One with ghost hunched over in the couch while he feeds baby because she only drinks when she can see both you and ghost.

Eventually, he fills a baby book. Countless photos, all evidence of his love.

He doesn't think about his own father, how the only photos they had together were on his 6th birthday after the cops talked to mum and da for hours. He grew up wondering what a dad does, what if feels like to be loved like in the movies.

simon riley's spouse sleeps with a stuffed frog every night.

he's got used to it. you cuddle the frog. he cuddles you.

he comes in late one night from an op, notices your frog has tumbled out of your arms and onto the floor whilst you sleep and is staring up at him with beady black eyes that he can't help but think look a bit... sad.

he carefully tucks the frog back into your grip, kisses your temple, climbs under the sheets behind you to wrap his arms around your waist.

you make a soft noise of contentment, tighten your grip on the frog, shuffle back against the wall of simon's body.

i'm a genderless possum.

i'm going to assume this isn't malicious, although it is impolite to ask people about their gender unprompted, but i am neither.

my pronouns are at the top of the page, those are all the information you actually need in order to be respectful.